


Catching Up to Old Friends

by NKVD



Category: Gravity Falls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NKVD/pseuds/NKVD
Summary: Pacifica and her significant other are on their way to an evening party, when they get pulled over. An altercation that will lead to a trip down memory lane, straight into Gravity Falls.
Relationships: Pacifica Northwest/Dipper Pines
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	Catching Up to Old Friends

## I am the Law

* * *

Driving down the interstate in a rich sports car, the life of the Northwest heiress seemed as perfect as anyone could imagine. Seated comfortably in bolstered leather seats, next to the handsome face of her boyfriend, driving to an evening party. Such an easy, one sided way to look at it.

Pacifica Northwest had found herself in this situation, picturesque and serene. Her boyfriend was a long-time acquaintance, the son of one of her father’s high school friends. During the last few years, she attended the same school as him, thanks to internship program that brought her to the same state. Texas may have been a significant change from the natural wild beauty of the forests in Oregon, but still had its charms.

The scenery outside the car flew past in a blur, and no matter how beautiful it seemed, none of it was any consolation. Her companion remained quiet, lost in concentration of how to annoy the most drivers without getting into an accident. He called it ‘spirited driving’. Unfortunately, ‘spirited driving’ rarely resonated well with other fellow drivers, though he didn’t mind.

The quiet tension in the air was broken by the wail of a police siren. Seems like their luck had finally run out, though only one of them was smart enough to cut their losses when it counts. A black, conspicuous sedan had been following them for a few miles now, replicating any lane change or maneuver. The front push bar and side mounted spotlight would’ve been a dead giveaway to anyone short of those belonging to the group of lawbreakers who believe they’re not _above the law_ , but that they _are the law_.

Reluctantly pulling to the side of the road, much to the glee of other motorists, their car came to a halt, idling on the side of the interstate. Red and blue lights flashed, illuminating the evening Oregon forest.

A tall man in full uniform emerged from the pursuing car, a cap and sunglasses to complete the look. His sleeves were rolled up halfway, but still managed to give the officer a professional, polished look. The man’s attire was complimented by a black vest atop a blue collared shirt, with a radio sitting firm in one of the pockets, and a golden star pinned to his breast pocket. His voice seemed well meaning, yet firm and authoritative.

“Good evening, I’m gonna need to see your license, registration, and proof of insurance please.”

Something sounded familiar about this man, but under the sunglasses and blue cap, it was hard to place where she’d seen him before. Her boyfriend reluctantly complied.

“Johnathan Friedman?”

He nodded.

“Do you know why I’m stopping you tonight?”

John shook his head.

“Well, for those uninformed, your car was recklessly speeding across the freeway at triple the speed limit, tailgating other drivers, passing on the left side. Also, your exhaust appears to be above the noise limit for this county.”

John’s face turned slightly red, as he started to raise his voice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about man.”

The officer remained unphased, his cool outlook staring into her boyfriend’s eyes.

“You saw my name on my license.” John almost accused, gesturing towards his full name listed on his license.

The officer nodded. “Yes, I’m aware. Your name is in fact, Johnathan Friedman.”

“Yeah, THE Johnathan Friendman. Son of the rich and famous Friedman family! Ever heard of it?”

The officer remained unphased, his tone unnervingly calm. “Vaguely. Wasn’t one of your family members accused of embezzlement a few weeks back?” He pretended to give the name some thought, but eventually gave up.

John’s face grew even redder, frustration mounting. He decided to switch tactics.

“Look, our family supports your department. I even have an LEM license plate!”

The other replied coldly: “Strange. I saw ‘Honoring Their Sacrifice’ on the back, not ‘Get Out of a Ticket’.”

Pacifica finally had enough. Her tone leveled to that of the officer’s, but her blue eyes narrowed, intensely focused on the man challenging their authority.

“What are you getting at?”

“How nice of you to speak up. Given the circumstances, I’m going to need to detain Mr. Friedman here, and your vehicle will need to be towed, since neither of you actually have proof of ownership on the vehicle, much less insurance.”

“What the hell? What for? I told you who we are, didn’t you get it?” John snapped at the prospect of his car being towed.

The officer turned his attention back to him. “Yes. You mentioned it. Now, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the car.”

John stepped out; his hands clenched. “You’re making a mistake man! I’ll stop all the funding to your department! I’ll sue you for all you’re worth!”

“If the funding of our department worries you so much, you can relax. The bail for your arrest will likely be larger than any donation made to our department in years, by your family anyway.”

Pacifica’s mood soured, getting harassed by an officer instead of being at a party wasn’t her idea of a good time. “Don’t worry John! I’ll call a lawyer and get this guy fired.” Turning her attention back to the officer, she gestured to him menacingly. “I want to see your badge.”

The man complied, almost too willingly.

“Officer Mason, Oregon State Patrol?”

“At your service, Ms. Northwest. Now that the formalities are behind us, I’m still going to have to arrest your friend over here, and book him for the night.”

“He’s not my friend, he’s my boyfriend. We were on our way to a party, before you _rudely_ ruined our plans for the evening.”

The police officer shrugged indifferently, and handcuffed a slightly defeated, but nevertheless vengeful, Johnathan Friedman. Pacifica reached for her smartphone, speed dialing her attorney. For several minutes, there was a unique calm as Officer Mason wrote up a report, and radioed for a tow truck.

“Wait! Where am I supposed to go?” Pacifica called, her anger replaced with fear, if only for a moment.

Mason shrugged. “Have your attorney pick you up.” He cursed under his breath, regretting losing his professionalism. Pacifica didn’t miss the sarcastic comment however, her anger rushing back. “How dare you! I’m from a high standing family, mind you. My father is friends with the governor! You’re going to wish you never stopped our car in the first place!”

The tow truck finally arrived, and John’s sports car was quickly hooked up and towed out of sight, and out of mind. A silver colored SUV pulled up behind Officer Mason’s, red and blue lights on full display. Two men stepped out, in full police uniform. After a brief conference, the two new arrivals grabbed John, and sat him in the back seat, behind bars. As quickly as it arrived, the silver SUV merged back into traffic, and fled the scene, its red and blue lights fading into the night.

Officer Mason leaned against the hood of his car, the end of his pen between his lips. Finishing his report, he clicked his pen off, and got in the driver’s seat. Flicking the emergency lights off, he was about to drive away, before Pacifica approached him.

“What’s your deal anyway? Why us?” Her tone was biting, but slightly defeated.

“I didn’t single out your car out of thousands of offenders today, if that’s what you’re getting at. In fact, I had more urgent matters to attend to myself.” His tone became more casual, but his expression remained cool. Pacifica on the other hand, was slightly red in the face, her left eye twitching slightly out of irritation.

“Unless you have further questions, have a good rest of your evening, Northwest.”

Rolling up the passenger side window, he was about to leave, before she gestured at him again.

“Where are you going?”

For the first time since she’d laid eyes on him, he smiled slightly.

“Gravity Falls.”

“Mind…can I…come with you?”

The officer chuckled slightly at her admitted defeat.

“Sure, hop in.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of a police pursuit car was definitely not as nice of an experience as sitting in a luxury sports car. The seats were most definitely not leather, and it felt slightly claustrophobic with the amount of heavy equipment mounted inside. A large laptop sat in between them, while a dashboard mounted radio muttered out miscellaneous information. A white, circular map light dimly illuminated the center console, casting a slight shadow on the driver. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, perhaps in a good way. His cap looked familiar, even though she had never seen it before today. The engine purred in a satisfying note, as they rejoined traffic, on their way to Gravity Falls.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, a thought came into Pacifica’s mind. How did he know her name, when she never mentioned it to him? She didn’t show him any identification…

“Hey uhm, how did you know my name?”

The officer dropped any sign of professionalism.

“I should feel slightly offended that you don’t remember me, Pacifica.”

She slumped in her seat. Clearly, she knew this person at some point, and of course he wouldn’t be intimidated by her. Curse her luck.

“I know we haven’t seen each other in years, but frankly, I thought higher of you than I should have,” he continued. “I’ve not one to judge relationships, normally that’s my sister’s job, but _John Friedman_?” Mason shook his head.

“Hey! Who gave the right to look down on my boyfriend?” Her sharp tone threatened his hearing, but Mason was undeterred.

“Says the person who still doesn’t remember me, and I’m giving you a free lift home.”

His tone saddened. After a moment of silence, he took his sunglasses off, and stowed them in a ceiling compartment. His deep brown eyes were reminiscent of a boy she knew several years ago, before high school…was it really him?

“But your name is Mason…” she thought out loud, before falling quiet, embarrassed.

“The chief told me that ‘Dipper’ isn’t a very professional name.”

Pacifica felted shocked. The man who had stood up to her and her significant other, against all odds, was her best friend’s brother. The boy she never saw again, years after the tragic events in the Falls took place. No wonder he knew her name, and where she lived, and-and… why he was disappointed. As great as she wanted to think Johnathan Friedman was, there was nothing positive about him. A stereotypical high school jock, who had football skills for IQ points, and money pouring out of his ears. Her parents had set them up, and she never noticed, just like she never noticed how effortlessly she reverted back into her former self. An ideal heiress, sneering down on all below her. She should have stayed at Greasy’s instead of taking the internship. Her father must’ve pulled some strings.

“I’m sorry.” Her apology seemed like an echo into a void. Surely, Dipper would never trust her again, and since he and Mabel shared everything, Mabel would be disappointed in her too.

“It’s your choice. Just because I dislike your decision in boyfriends doesn’t mean anything. Simply thought you deserved better, that’s all.” His face softened a little bit, though his tone was bittersweet.

A brief silence, before she spoke again, changing topics entirely.

“Never would’ve guessed you’d be a cop,” she said with a soft laugh. “I always thought you’d be something more like what was on _Ghost Harassers_.”

Dipper laughed along good naturedly.

“My parents figured being a police officer was a good step in becoming a ‘paranormal investigator’, and more sensible too. I’m not sure it’s a perfect fit, but there are definitely a lot of weird things that we get called in for.” He didn’t elaborate further. “How about you?”

Pacifica blushed slightly. “Well, I _wanted_ to be a better person. But…” – she sighed – “you saw how well that’s been going.”

“Not to say that being a better person isn’t important, but what made you do it? Going against your parents, everything you’ve ever learned…” His train of thought trailed off, lost to evening exhaustion.

She was glad that Dipper was too tired and looking ahead at the road to see her face. Pacifica felt her face start to heat up.

“I…um…” her voice quieted. “I had a crush on you…”

Dipper straightened himself. “What, really? I would’ve never guessed. For all the names you called me and my sister, and all the threats, romance never came to mind much. Maybe after you saved us from the lumberjack ghost, but even then, I didn’t think much of it.”

The blonde girl bit her lip. Seeing Dipper again reignited all the past feelings she had about him, from a time when they were both teenagers, and Dipper had jumped in front of her, almost like he was ready to take a bullet for her. Granted, he trapped the ghost in a silver mirror, and there were no guns involved, but it was a beautiful picture in her mind. Looking at him now, Dipper was truly handsome for his modest teen years. The uniform really suited him. Perhaps, looking at his bold face, she still liked him.


End file.
